Dubai Gold Souk

From the distance, it is easy to mistake the large building shimmering with gold colour as the Dubai Gold Souk. After all, the city is known for its glitz and outstanding building designs.

The taxi veers past the New Gold Souk building and continues towards the district of Deira. There, in front of a large shopping complex, he deposits us near the entrance. This isn’t the famed souk either, but we take a curious look inside the air-conditioned mall full of modern shops with gold jewellery adorning their windows.

The Gold Souk of Dubai is located in more humble surrounds. The entrance is marked by a wooden awning that extends the length of the shops.

Beneath the awning, the air is still and redolent of spices and sweat. Workers carting boxes in the heat seem to glide past effortlessly.

A man sells bottled water to tourists as they shuffle past, their eyes drawn to the myriad of gold in the shop windows.

Another man approaches us with offers of gold bargains, then mentions fake designer accessories. He walks beside us but addresses Mr G the whole time, his eyes not even glancing once in my direction. Mr G politely declines. We are more interested in taking photographs of the souk than buying jewellery.

Rows of adjacent shops line up the souk with a dazzling gold display. The last time I had seen so much gold concentrated in one location was at the Aleppo Covered Souk in Syria.

There are intricate pieces of jewellery alongside designs that may seem a little garish to western tastes.

Amongst this wealth of gold, safety prevails and there are no security guards around to protect the merchandise.

The gold here is of a different shade, a brighter yellow much like Indian gold jewellery.

The souk also opens at night, which is a more pleasant time to visit than during the day when the temperatures soar and the heat slows you down.

If you decide to buy gold jewellery in Dubai, remember to bargain as this is the way business transactions are made.

The Dubai Gold Souk is located in the Deira district within walking distance to the Dubai Fish Markets and Dubai Food Markets.

Visiting Dubai? Don’t miss our Top 10 Things in To in Dubai.